Search in Africa, from 2020
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest
Tanzania's government restricted internet and social-media access on October 29, 2025, as citizens voted in a general election marked by protests, cutting national internet traffic by nearly 90 percent and leaving both local and foreign jo…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government Samia Suluhu Hassan · Unknown
Ethiopia arrests at least six journalists including Sheger FM staff over election-year coverage
Ethiopian authorities arrested at least six journalists between August and September 2025, including three from Sheger FM after the Ethiopian Media Authority ordered the station to delete a broadcast it accused of bias and inciting violenc…
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Abiy Ahmed · Ongoing
Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992
The Committee to Protect Journalists found at least four journalists imprisoned under Tunisia's 2022 Decree-Law 54 on cybercrime as of January 2025, including radio hosts Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaies, pushing the country's jailed-journa…
Insult and defamation laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Kais Saied · Sustained
Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governments
President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Patriotic Act, which criminalizes meeting foreign governments or officials with intent to harm Zimbabwe's sovereignty, with penalties up to death for advocating armed intervention and up to ten years…
Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Emmerson Mnangagwa · Sustained
Ethiopia: Economist correspondent Tom Gardner expelled
Ethiopia's media regulator revoked The Economist correspondent Tom Gardner's press accreditation and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, citing unspecified conduct, almost a year after expelling a New York Times reporter.
Expulsion and visa denial · Stage Punish · Head of government Abiy Ahmed · Sustained
Ethiopia: internet and phone service cut across Tigray
Ethiopia's government cut internet and telephone service across the Tigray region when war broke out there in November 2020, leaving the region without communication for months and forcing reporters to travel there to learn what was happen…
Shutdowns and blocking · Stage Silence · Head of government Abiy Ahmed · Ongoing
Morocco: investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware and he is later detained
Amnesty International confirmed Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone had been infected with Pegasus spyware, and Moroccan police separately detained him overnight days later after private material from his devices circulated…
Surveillance and subpoenas · Stage Punish · Head of government Saadeddine Othmani · Reversed